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The winter is finally upon us and Mother Nature is unleashing all of her fury, it seems. In fact, I’d even venture to say she’s unstable – considering it is low sixties flip-flop weather one day, and the next day the high is 12 degrees Fahrenheit and my daughter’s school is closing because the heating system can’t keep up with the temperature. Can you sense my frustration? I digress.

In the past week, we’ve had a dental emergency, pink eye, and a cold to manage with the little one, and I caught some nasty mutation of the flu. Needless to say, this definitely was not our best week ever; however, it made me reflect on some of the mom-things I can’t live without during the winter.

1) Humidifier

Our warm-mist humidifier is our most valuable tool to get through the winter with a baby or a toddler. They say the average child gets a cold 8-10 times in their first year of life. And with young children who are constantly congested and do not have the motor skills to blow their noses, some assistance is needed to clear-up those airways! I know a lot of people say that cool-mist ones are better, but I prefer the warm-mist humidifier…because who wants cool air blowing around when it’s already frigid outside?! This way, you get the added moisture AND the added warmth.

2) Serena & Lily Sheets

The first (of many, many) baby gifts my mom gave us was a set of high-quality sheets from Serena and Lily. They were so beautiful and soft. I remember saying to my husband, “this baby’s bedding is going to be nicer than ours!” At the time, I had no clue how many sets of sheets I would go through during the course of one week. When my daughter is sick/potty training/vomiting etc., it’s so nice to have several sets of nice sheets that I can easily switch out in the middle of the night, if need be.

3) Homeopathic Cough Syrup

Since kiddie colds are so frequent, it’s good to have something on hand that isn’t medicine, to help make them feel better and help get them to sleep. I have to be honest, while I like to use homeopathic “medicine” for our daughter, I’m not completely convinced that it can stand alone to provide relief when fighting off a nasty illness. I use it in addition to traditional medicine (Baby Motrin or Tylenol). The little one loves the taste of Zarbees, and the “nighttime” formula definitely seems to help her sleep.

4) Kids Probiotics

We went out of the country on vacation, and when we came back, our daughter was having some serious stomach issues for almost two weeks. We followed the doctor’s instructions, and finally, on a whim, decided to give her probiotics. And within 24 hours, she was fully healthy again! Since then, probiotics have become my cure for everything. And let’s be honest, those weeks when your child literally won’t eat anything besides yogurt and crackers, they could definitely use some help with “regularity.” And if you’re potty training said little people, probiotics are helpful, as no toddler will be encouraged to go in the potty if they’re constipated! Have I grossed you out with my poop-talk yet? Just know that probiotics help with overall immunity if you use them regularly. So that means less sickness for the kids and more sleep for parents! This parenting game is hard, so we need all the sleep we can get!

What are your go-to products to get through cold and flu season? Is it summer yet?!